Quick Review: "Mystic River" by Dennis Lehane

From Goodreads:  When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever.

Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay -- demons that urge him to do terrible things. When Jimmy's daughter is found murdered, Sean is assigned to the case. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave, who came home the night Jimmy's daughter died covered in someone else's blood.

A tense and unnerving psychological thriller, Mystic River is also an epic novel of love and loyalty, faith and family, in which people irrevocably marked by the past find themselves on a collision course with the darkest truths of their own hidden selves.

My Thoughts:  This is just one of those books that messed with my head.  There was this constant theme of right vs. wrong and the gray area was so huge that it was hard to draw a definitive line between the two.  It made me question my own opinions on certain things.  The characters were so flawed and it was difficult to know who to like and who to not like.  I liked Jimmy Marcus for like 90% of the book but the end just made me really not like him.  I didn't like Dave Boyle at all even though I felt like I should. 

The story was compelling and I really didn't figure out the 'whodunit' until the end which is always fun for me.  This is the second Dennis Lehane book that I've read and I must say that he is a really awesome writer.  He can set a scene like no other and he's also really good at surprise endings.  I will definitely be reading more of his books in the future. 4 stars.

This book is part of my personal collection.